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The joint impact of environmental uncertainty and tolerance of ambiguity on top managers' perceptions of the usefulness of non-conventional management accounting information

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  • Lal, Mohan
  • Hassel, Lars

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of environmental uncertainty, organizational size, and tolerance of ambiguity of managers on the perceived usefulness of information characteristics of management accounting systems (MAS). An overall measure of usefulness based on the four non-conventional MAS information characteristics of scope, timeliness, level of aggregation, and information for integration were selected based on previous MAS studies (Chenhall and Morris, 1986, The Accounting Review 61, 16-35). Tolerance of ambiguity was introduced as a moderator between environment and information usefulness because information is an important individual resource which makes individuals value information differently depending on the context. Size was included as a surrogate for organizational complexity to further test the strength of the person-environment interaction on information usefulness. The usefulness of MAS information is seen to be affected by interaction patterns between the individual, organizational and environmental levels. Data from 64 managers of New Zealand manufacturing companies suggests that managers of large firms with high tolerance of ambiguity perceive non-conventional MAS information to be most useful when the environment is uncertain.

Suggested Citation

  • Lal, Mohan & Hassel, Lars, 1998. "The joint impact of environmental uncertainty and tolerance of ambiguity on top managers' perceptions of the usefulness of non-conventional management accounting information," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 259-271, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:scaman:v:14:y:1998:i:3:p:259-271
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Habib Akdogan & Ela Hicyorulmaz, 2015. "The Importance of the Sustainability of Environmental Accounting," Journal of Economic Development, Environment and People, Alliance of Central-Eastern European Universities, vol. 4(2), pages 6-20, June.
    2. Lueg, Rainer & Borisov, Boris Genadiev, 2014. "Archival or perceived measures of environmental uncertainty? Conceptualization and new empirical evidence," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 658-671.
    3. Frank Hartmann, 2005. "The effects of tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty on the appropriateness of accounting performance measures," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 41(3), pages 241-264, October.
    4. Antonio Costantini & Filippo Zanin, 2017. "The Effect of Perceived Environmental Uncertainty on the Use and Perceived Usefulness of Strategic Management Accounting: Some Empirical Evidence," Managing Global Transitions, University of Primorska, Faculty of Management Koper, vol. 15(4 (Winter), pages 379-398.
    5. Coenders, Germà & Bisbe, Josep & Saris, Willem E. & Batista-Foguet, Joan M., 2003. "Moderating Effects of Management Control Systems and Innovation on Performance. Simple Methods for Correcting the Effects of Measurement Error for Interaction Effects in Small Samples," Working Papers of the Department of Economics, University of Girona 7, Department of Economics, University of Girona.
    6. Goodwin, Paul & Önkal, Dilek & Thomson, Mary, 2010. "Do forecasts expressed as prediction intervals improve production planning decisions?," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 205(1), pages 195-201, August.

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